I Know Why
by L122yTorch
Summary: After their kiss on Dani's porch Nico has been distancing himself from the good doctor. But her feelings for him won't go away and she won't let him go without a fight.
1. Chapter 1

She could feel Nico's gaze on her, and it lit up her cheeks and tingled down her spine. She was standing close enough to get a good whif of his cologne and it drove her nuts. They were in the coach's office, talking about TK's latest mishap. And all Dani could focus on was Nico.

After the conversation ended Nico practically fled from the room. She turned around and watched him go. He caught her gaze through the glass, her face betrayed her emotions; sadness. Nico had been working very carefully at not being alone with Dani, not saying anything to her that wasn't work related, not dwelling on the fact that they had kissed. He had written it off as the result of a moment of weakness.

But somewhere, deep down, he knew it wasn't.

While they were in her home office he had asked her why she kissed him, he braced himself for the answer but the moment her lips parted his cellphone rang. He reached for the glaring iPhone. It was emergency, he had to go. Or at least that's what he told her.

The second he asked her why she kissed him, he regretted it. He didn't want to know the answer because the answer might hurt him and Nico didn't often put himself in the position of getting hurt, of being vulnerable.

After that day she had tried to bring it up again and he just shut her down. She wouldn't let it go, she insisted on bringing it up once more and this time he shut it down with force, he knew he had hurt her feelings.

"It was a mistake," he said turning and walking out of her home. That was what he had said to her the second time she tried bringing it up. And he could feel the tears forming in her eyes, he could feel her gaze burning a hole in his back. When he got back to his black Lincoln his eyes were burning with tears he refused to shed. He was protecting himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The ring of Dani's phone nearly gave her a heart attack when it blared at 3 a.m. She picked up her phone and through sleep-ridden blurry vision made out the words "NICO." She immediately sat up in bed and answered the phone. She found Nico's never-tired voice on the other end.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry to wake you up but…TK just took out his frustrations on a reporters face at DARK, a nightclub downtown. This whole thing is going to blow up tomorrow but for now…for now TK could use a good talking to." Dani cleared her throat and tried to hide the exhaustion in her words. "Well…I'm sure you could give him a good talking to." "I'm sure I could," Nico replied with an angry undertone seeping through the cracks of his words.

A moment of silence passed. "But I'm too frustrated to talk to him with a level-head," he finished. "Alright, uh, where is he now?" "He's at Mercy Hospital getting some stitches on his cheek. See you here?" "I'm on my way," she said trudging out of bed and heading for her dresser.

She wasn't used to hearing frustration in Nico's voice, he was always the level headed one. He had been stoic for the last couple of weeks, cold even. His face haunted her thoughts all the way to the hospital.

…

The bright fluorescent hospital lights flooded Dani's eyes. She walked down a few hallways and turned a corner, smacking square into Nico Careles' chest. The shock threw her back a few steps and his firm hands grabbed her biceps to steady her. "Are you awake enough to do this?" he asked observing the expression on her face. "Do I have a choice?" she quipped.

"I'll be here," Nico said as she brushed past him and opened the door to TK's room. Nico wanted more than anything to go home. He wanted not to notice how beautiful Dani was, even without makeup. He didn't want to be around her.

Nico paced down a few halls, found a vending machine, got a caffeine and sugar riddled drink and poured it down his throat. He watched as doctors and nurses shuffled around him in a sort of subdued panic. That was the perfect way to describe his relationship with Dani.

He wore a navy blue shirt and black slacks, and in this lighting his face lost all it's color. The bags under his eyes were apparent from weeks of trying to keep wreckless players at bay. Pulling them out of brawls, bailing one from jail, convincing a wife to keep a marriage in tact. It was exhausting.

Nico shuffled back to TK's door, about half an hour had passed. He leaned against the cold green tile, tilted his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Nico was startled from his groggy state as he heard the door push open. Dani emerged with no discernable expression on her face. She let the door close behind her and then leaned back against it looking across the short hallway to Nico.

"You were right, he did need a talking to," Dani said. She pushed off against the door and walked closer to Nico. "And he's not the only one," she said looking up at Nico's dark eyes. She lightly grabbed Nico's elbow and let him to a door. She peered in and upon realizing the room was empty, she opened the door and pulled Nico in.

"Dani, it's late, I don't want to…" he started. "I don't care," she finished his sentence. " She wedged a door stop into the closed door and took three steps over to Nico. With folded arms she tried her best not to stare him down. "Look..." she hesitated with a deep breath, "For these past couple of weeks I've been watching as you put walls up around yourself. I know that you've been hurt Nico." He bit his lower lip and looked down at the floor.

"I'm watching you slip further away from me," she said in a nearly pleading voice, "and I can't take it." With those words Nico jerked his head up and watched Dani's resolve begin to fail.

"I miss you Nico," she whispered stepping even closer. "I care about you deeply, that's why I kissed you."

The look in her eyes nearly tore Nico apart. It was a look of sadness and desperation and lust and love. "I do know you Nico, and I know you're trying to protect yourself…but at what cost?"

She put her hand on his chest and felt his heart beating wildly. "I need you," she said only inches from his face. He chocked out a sound she'd never heard before from him and in an instant his lips were crashing into hers. He kissed her, almost violently, his left hand cupped her face and his right hand grasped her hip and brought her even closer.

She met his kiss with equal fervor, biting his bottom lip and crashing her tongue into his. He felt like he was on fire and tasted like scotch and coffee. Finally they broke apart and he placed his forehead against hers. "I need you too," he admitted.


End file.
